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Aki Berg
Aki-Petteri Berg (born July 28, 1977 in Raisio, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman and captain of TPS of SM-liiga. He was drafted third overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played both for the Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs over eight seasons and has represented Team Finland twice at the Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, a silver medal at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey in which Finland lost in the finals to host Canada, and a silver medal at the 2006 Torino Olympics. Draft status and early years Although Berg had developed into a solid regular NHL defenceman, he nonetheless failed to shed his underachiever tag after entering the NHL in 1995–96 from Finland. As a teenager playing for TPS in the Finnish SM-liiga, Berg was thought to be a can't miss prospect. Thus, while he turned into a nice complementary player at the NHL level, he nonetheless failed to have the impact that was expected of him. Some analysts feel that, had Berg been given time to refine his offensive game in Finland, as well as some minor technical aspects, he would have become an impact NHL defenceman. He was traded from Los Angeles to Toronto on March 13, 2001 for Adam Mair and a 2nd round draft pick (later used to select Mike Cammalleri) as the Leafs wished for an injection of youth into a rapidly aging roster. In April 2006, after the Leafs failed to make the playoffs, Berg signed with TPS and returned to his native Finland. Performance as a Leaf After his trade to Toronto (Berg scored three times in 12 games with the Leafs during the regular-season that year), Berg played a quiet, if not entirely unspectacular style. Berg played in 78, 79, and 81 games during his first three full seasons in Toronto. Berg was a commonly attacked player in the Toronto media. On After the Horn, Andy Frost said that "Aki is one of the most underrated players on Leafs." A Finnish news site reported that Berg was considering leaving the NHL and going back to play in his native Finland after the conclusion of the 2005–2006 season1 Present status As a result of the NHL lock-out, Berg has since returned to Europe in order to play in Sweden with Timrå IK. In 47 games, Berg was the team's top all-around defenceman, recording 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points during the 2004–05 Swedish Elitserien regular-season. He returned to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005/2006 season. In 531 career NHL regular-season games with Toronto and Los Angeles Berg has 15 goals and 62 assists for 77 points with a +/- rating of -7 and 318 penalty minutes. In 54 career post-season games he has recorded 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points with a +2 rating and 47 penalty minutes. On April 25, 2006, Berg signed with TPS of Finland's SM-liiga, and is presently team captain. Career statistics